Early the next morning, Zhou Lanfang cooked a large pot of sweet potato porridge, steamed a few big sweet potatoes, and stir-fried a large plate of Chinese cabbage.
Such a combination constituted a rather lavish breakfast.
Most households would just boil a few pieces of sweet potato as a quick-fix, most only eating two meals a day, skipping dinner.
The Shen Family, though not very affluent, never missed three meals a day, which was one reason they knew they did not meet the criteria for financial aid.
"Hurry up and eat, eat quickly so you can get to work," Zhou Lanfang urged Shen Mianmian to eat her breakfast as soon as it was served, fearing Shen Mianmian might lose her job to laziness.
Shen Mianmian found this a bit amusing; it was a treatment she had never experienced before, as Zhou Lanfang used to worry she would eat too much.
Shen Jianhua joined in, "No rush, I’ll take Mianmian to work later." It would be a good chance to check out his daughter’s workplace.
"Does she need someone to escort her to work or what?" Zhou Lanfang was displeased, "With the New Year approaching, we have a big house cleaning ahead, and we need to wash the bed sheets and covers. You help me heat some water."
In the cold winter, the water was chilly, washing clothes without turning grey and it would freeze your hands, hence everyone used hot water to do the laundry.
"I’ll heat the water after I bring Mianmian back. It’s not urgent to wash the clothes this very moment." Shen Jianhua had promised his daughter the day before; he couldn’t very well say one thing now and backtrack later, could he?
Besides, he was not at ease without seeing the place for himself.
"How can it not be urgent?" Zhou Lanfang adamantly disagreed with Shen Jianhua’s plan to take Shen Mianmian, "All this fuss just because she’s working and earning a little money? Should the whole family revolve around her?"
Zhou Lanfang could not stand her husband treating Shen Mianmian too well. Thɪs chapter is updated by 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭⟡𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦⟡𝘯𝘦𝘵
The money hadn’t even been earned yet, but the pretense was already there. Whose family arranges for someone to be escorted to and from work?
"Dad, since the house is busy with cleaning, it’s fine, next time you can take me when there’s time," Shen Mianmian winked at Shen Jianhua, reminding him not to argue with Zhou Lanfang over this issue.
She had intended to appease Shen Jianhua with Lu Siyuan’s help, but Zhou Lanfang’s objection had made it easier for her.
Shen Jianhua hesitated for a moment, "Alright then."
The New Year was approaching, and it wasn’t worth getting upset over such a trivial matter.
Shen Mianmian glanced at Zhou Siyu, whose eyes were rolling around as if scheming something, and with a slight curl of her lips, she deliberately said,
"Siyu, why don’t you take me then?"
"Huh?" Zhou Siyu was startled and promptly refused after coming to her senses, "Sorry, sis! Today I made plans with my classmates, we’re going to study together."
Zhou Siyu had indeed been somewhat curious to see where Shen Mianmian was working, suspecting Shen Mianmian might be up to some sort of mischief behind their backs.
But upon hearing Shen Mianmian’s request for her to go, her suspicions disappeared.
With the weather being so cold, and without gloves, riding a bike would freeze her hands and face; she had no interest in enduring that discomfort.
"Is that so?" Shen Mianmian sounded slightly disappointed, "Then I’ll go by myself, and the next time one of you has the time, you can take me! Walking too much makes my feet hurt."
Hearing her complain about her feet hurting, a flash of schadenfreude passed through the eyes of both Zhou Lanfang and Zhou Siyu. They certainly wouldn’t offer to take her.
A morning in the twelfth lunar month was bitterly cold, with dense fog and low visibility, and there were hardly any people on the streets. By the time they reached the town, their hair and eyebrows were frosted over, but Shen Mianmian and Lu Siyuan didn’t feel the least bit troubled.
Energized and firmly focused on making money, they arrived earlier than the agreed time. The old lady wasn’t there yet, and, with their feet freezing, they hopped off the ox cart and started jumping around on the spot to warm up.